No go for Springwood boarding house

The $2 million development proposed demolishing an existing house to build a four-level, 14-bedroom boarding house with basement parking on the site, near the Homedale Street end of Springwood Avenue.

Neighbouring residents had opposed the plan, believing it was excessive over-development for the area.

At Monday night's planning panel meeting, two councillors - Daniel Myles and Shae Foenander - spoke, but as private residents not in their official capacity.

Mr Myles, who lives in Springwood, described that area of the street, commonly used by cars coming out of the southern car park, as "death star trench".

"One has to drive very carefully through and when there's a car coming onwards you will need to nose into a driveway to let them by," he said.

He believed the boarding house was "over-development on quite a constrained site with only one entry and exit point onto an already congested road. It think this is an area that's overloaded already."

Blaxland-based Ms Foenander said she visited Springwood about four times a week.

"I feel there's a safety issue," she told the panel.

"The road is quite dangerous to travel when you've got cars parked on both sides already and one has to stop to let another one pass. I feel a boarding house of this capacity in the area is only going to magnify the safety risk to residents, to cars and to the children that go to that child care facility [nearby]."

The panel agreed, finding that the DA failed to demonstrate that it would avoid having an adverse affect on the surrounding traffic network, on-street parking and safe access.

It also found that the design was "not consistent with the strong character of this part of the street which is predominantly defined by one- and two-storey residential style buildings with steep pitched roofs".

One of the neighbours who opposed the DA, Anthony Gunther, said he welcomed the planning panel's decision.